The Prime Minister expressed his desire to “know” what the two groups have done with “public money” having announced the elimination of several thousand jobs and the closure of several sites.
This is enough to further inflame the difficult relations between businesses and the political world. Auchan and Michelin, who announced two difficult social plans on Tuesday morning, did not wait long to react to the Prime Minister’s comments made the same day. Before the National Assembly, Michel Barnier stepped up to the plate, asking to want “know” what they had done “public money that we gave them”.
The Prime Minister had been questioned by André Chassaigne, deputy of the French Communist Party (PCF) who questioned him in particular about the use of the tax credit for competitiveness and employment (CICE) by the two groups and who accused, as in the habit, the different governments under Emmanuel Macron of doing “ phenomenal gifts » to businesses.
« The annual reduction in charges of 83 million granted under the CICE between 2013 and 2018 was entirely used for the objectives targeted by this system», retorted Auchan, citing the redistribution “of purchasing power to its employees via the progress bonus and participation.» Or again, the restoration of “the competitiveness of the company» and the deployment of “innovative technologies».
2,389 job cuts
Established in 2013 under François Hollande to reduce the labor cost of companies – high in France compared to other European countries – and boost their competitiveness, the CICE was transformed into a lasting reduction in employer contributions in 2019 as promised by Emmanuel Macron during the campaign for the 2017 presidential election. He has since been regularly criticized on the left of the political spectrum.
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The sign with the red bird also made it clear that at “for 2023 alone, the company paid 258 million in taxes (excluding taxes collected: VAT, alcohol taxes, TICPE) and 607 million euros in social charges for the employer’s share, thus contributing to public operations .»
In great difficulty, the northern food distributor of the Mulliez galaxy has just announced a shocking plan to try to get out of the rut. The group plans 2,389 job cuts for some 54,000 employees, or nearly 5% of its workforce in France, including the closure of ten stores including three hypermarkets.
1.2 billion euros of annual investments in R&D by Michelin
Same reaction at Michelin, the French tire industrial flagship, which indicated, the same day, that it would have to close two factories in Cholet (Maine-et-Loire) and Vannes (Morbihan) which employ 1,254 people. Recalling that it no longer benefited from the CICE, the group announced that it had benefited from 42 million euros in 2023 under the research tax credit (CIR), “main public aid.“. And to insist: “This figure should be compared to the investments made by Michelin in R&D to the tune of 1.2 billion euros each year.».
In the midst of a heated debate on the 2025 budget project in Parliament in search of tens of billions of euros in savings, Michelin indicated that the CIR was “very important “. This tax advantage allows “to make researchers competitive and consolidate the Group’s global R&D center in Francesaid the group. More than 3,000 researchers are based at the Ladoux center in Clermont-Ferrand.”
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